Wake Forest has spent the opening stretch of the season making a case for itself, and now the next test arrives in the form of a rivalry road game at NC State.
The Demon Deacons have already shown they can go toe-to-toe with quality opposition. They hung around with Miami, then backed it up by going on the road and beating No.
16 Louisville. Stanford was a different kind of matchup, one in which Wake Forest was clearly the better team and just needed to play like it.
So far, that’s exactly what the Deacons have done.
NC State figures to be a far tougher assignment than Stanford, and Carter-Finley Stadium brings a different kind of pressure than Wake Forest saw last week. It’s a rivalry game, it’s on the road, and it comes against a Wolfpack team that still has enough talent to make mistakes expensive.
Wake Forest has been sharp against better opponents. The question now is whether that same edge shows up again.
The Wolfpack are 3-2 and coming off a 31-28 win over Louisville, which helps explain why the numbers still look strong. NC State is averaging 36.8 points and 460 yards per game, signs of an offense that can threaten almost anybody. But the résumé also includes a 34-8 loss to Virginia and one of the strangest defeats in college football this season against Vanderbilt.
That Vanderbilt loss came with six seconds left and should have been over. Quarterback CJ Bailey only needed to take a safety and let the clock expire.
Instead, he held the ball too long, Vanderbilt forced a fumble, and the Commodores turned it into the winning touchdown. It was the kind of finish that can only be described as total quarterback brain fog.
Bailey is still the biggest problem Wake Forest has to solve. Through five games, he has completed 65.3% of his passes for 1,266 yards and eight touchdowns.
He also just posted a career-high 373 passing yards against Louisville. JoJo Trader had five catches for 92 yards in that game, and Keenan Jackson has found the end zone five times over NC State’s last three games.
On the defensive side, linebacker Popo Aguirre is the name that jumps out. He entered the Louisville game third in the ACC in tackles per game, then followed that by recovering three fumbles against the Cardinals.
This game also carries the weight that comes with the series itself. Wake Forest and NC State have been meeting since 1910, making it the second-longest continuously played rivalry in the FBS. NC State won 34-24 in Winston-Salem last season, while Wake Forest’s last trip to Raleigh ended with a 34-30 Demon Deacons win in 2024.
Wake Forest has been the steadier team through five games. It has handled Miami, Louisville, and Stanford about as well as could be expected, and the pattern so far has been hard to miss: the tougher the challenge, the better Wake Forest has looked.
NC State has the firepower to make that matter. Wake Forest has given enough reason to think it’s ready for it.
In Other News...
Wake Forest Has The Firepower To Test NC State Saturday
Wake Forests offense has enough established playmakers to make Saturday a meaningful test for NC State, starting with senior quarterback Gio Lopez and senior wideout Carlos Hernandez. Lopez has settled in as the centerpiece of the attack, while Hernandez has been one of the leagues more productive pass catchers and a reliable chain-mover. Add in the balance provided by the rest of the roster, and the Demon Deacons arrive with a group that has been good enough this season to demand full attention from a Wolfpack defense trying to keep pace in ACC play.
The challenge for NC State goes beyond just the obvious names on offense. Wake Forest also has defenders making noise, including linebacker Firenze, defensive end Langston Hardy and safety Davaughn Patterson, each of whom has contributed to a unit that has shown improvement and climbed into the mix in conference rankings. For the Wolfpack, the matchup is a reminder that this is not simply about containing one side of the ball. Wake Forest has enough firepower on both ends to turn Saturday into a real evaluation of where NC State stands. [Read more 🡒]
Harvey Dyson Is Becoming A Defensive Spark NC State Fans Needed
Harvey Dysons arrival has given NC States defense a jolt at a time when it could use one. The former Tulane transfer made his presence felt in a recent game against Louisville, finishing with three tackles, a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and the kind of forceful play that can swing momentum in a hurry. It was the sort of outing that stood out not just on the stat sheet, but in the eyes of head coach Dave Doeren and captain Popo Aguirre, who both pointed to Dysons impact and leadership.
Through five games, Dyson has already become one of the more noticeable additions to the Wolfpack front. For a defense looking for reliable energy and timely disruption, he has offered both, and then some. The bigger question now is how far his role can grow as NC State moves deeper into the season, especially with his knack for showing up in the middle of game-changing moments. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Has A Defensive Problem Wake Forest Could Expose
NC State got the result it needed against Louisville, finally picking up its first ACC win of the season, but the film left a lot to sort through. The Wolfpack survived a 31-28 finish in part because they forced three turnovers, yet the defense also missed 23 tackles, the most in a game this season, and Louisville made them pay on the ground with 231 rushing yards on just 25 carries.
That kind of breakdown is hard to ignore with Wake Forest next on the schedule. The Deacons will look at the same tape and see opportunities, especially if NC States tackling remains uneven at the second level and in space, where Louisville repeatedly found extra yardage from Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown. The win bought the Wolfpack some breathing room, but it did not erase a defensive issue that could become much more dangerous if it lingers another week. [Read more 🡒]